Nephilim
by Iris RainbowWolf
Summary: On the night of our 18th birthday, my sister and I found out a major secret. We were born with the blood of an angel and we were these things called Shadowhunters. Clary was born in the image of our mother, Jocelyn Fray. me? Well, I was born in the image of something else. What the is, no one will tell me. All I know, is that my name is Lily Fray and I am a Nephilim. Jace/Oc
1. The Mortal Cup

**Nephilim**

 **Chapter One**

 **The Mortal Cup**

I could feel Clary's nervousness as we walked up the stairs to the Brooklyn Academy of Art. She was there for an interview, I was just there to support my twin. Sure we both were artsy, she just wanted to make a career out of it.

"You'll do great, Clary" I told her with a smile, "Now go knock 'em dead" I added before giving her a hug.

Now for the wait. It didn't take long for me to tire of standing and slid to the floor. I'm not very patient. So to keep myself occupied, I pulled my journal out of my bag and flipped through the pages.

For the past few days I've been having the same dream. Clary and I were eight years old, and our mom took us to see a man. I would have said it was just a memory from our childhood, except for the fact that this man's eyes looked like a cats and his fingers sparkled with this...energy. It was strange.

It felt so real.

"Lil." My sister's voice broke me out of my reverie.

"Soooo..." I trailed off, pushing myself to my feet.

"I got in!" Clary squealed, and I couldn't help but squeal in return. This was big for her.

"Come on, we gotta meet Simon at Java Jones" I laughed once I let her go. "You're not telling him right away, right?" I asked. It was always fun trying to pull on over on the best friend.

"Of course."

* * *

Both Clary and I wore looks of sadness as we walked into the coffee shop were SImon was waiting for us. I couldn't help but wonder How long we could keep this up.

"Give me the professor's names, and I...I will end them." Simon told Clary, causing us both to look at him in slight shock. "You know with a scathing email to the dean."

"Don't bother" I scoffed as Clary and I sat down at the table, Clary just tossed her acceptance letter in front of our best friend.

"What?" Simon smiled as he saw the bold 'CONGRATULATIONS' on the top of the page. "Sad face? Really?" he asked, looking between the two of us, his eyes shining as he looked at my twin.

"Had to do it, man" I shrugged, as my sister and I shared a smile.

"Well played, well played" Simon nodded as he and Clary did their little fist bump secret handshake thing.

"Thank you" Clary smiled. "You know it's weird they kind of liked my assigned work, but they flipped out over the drawings for our graphic novel" she added, looking at me now.

Clary was good at drawing, painting stuff like that. She took after our mom. I was better at the written word, no clue where I got that from.

So naturally, Clary and I put our talents together and started a graphic novel filled with magic and demons.

"You're welcome" I shrugged, smirking over the rim of my coffee cup.

"This day will go down in history as the greatest birthday we've ever had." Well she wasn't wrong there.

"Which is why we are celebrating tonight" Simon said as the hipster waitress brought us more coffee.

"Maureen gunna be there?" I asked, sliding my biscotti's over to Clary.

"Yes with Maureen" Simon said, still keeping his eyes on my sister.

"Absolutely" Clary and I said together, agreeing to the best friends plans. "Sooo..." Clary trailed off. "What's the deal with you and Maureen?"

"What deal?" Simon asked. "No deal. We sing together."

"Dude, you do realize she's been crushing on you for forever, right?" I asked.

"What? No. No" Simon denied.

"Simon, how can someone as smart and perceptive as you not realize that the person sitting right there is in love with you?" Clary asked.

It took everything in me not to snort into my coffee. I could say the same about her. SImon has been in love with her since middle school. Maybe elementary.

"I guarantee you I'm not the only smart, perceptive person to make that mistake" Simon shot back. I subtly nodded. My sister wasn't all that observant, apparently.

"That's a latte" I pointed out when I saw Clary looking in front of her confusedly.

"Did you take my biscotti?" she asked me.

"Um, no, I gave you mine remember?" I scoffed.

"Maybe you ate it really fast and didn't notice. Happens to me all the time" Simon suggested. "When I'm happy. When I'm sad...but I will replace your mythical biscotti with an actual one."

* * *

Our stay at the coffee shop didn't last too much longer before we said our goodbyes and started to head home. My nerves were singing from all of the coffee and I started to run at the birthmark on my wrist, something I always did when I had too much caffeine. Or when I was nervous...

Just like any other set of twins, Clary and I had our differences. We weren't Identical, for one, but we did have our moms fiery red hair. But unlike me, Clary and Mom didn't have the strange birthmark. One that looked like fairy wings.

"Hey Dot" Clary and I spoke in unison as we entered our moms shop. As usual, our mothers friend and employee was sitting behind the counter, playing with her tarot cards. "How's your future looking?" Clary asked, placing her portfolio at her feet.

"Not as good as yours" Dot replied "the tarot cards tell me you got into the advanced program."

"And by 'tarot cards' you mean Simon's twitter account, right?" I chuckled, leaning against the counter and looking at the hand painted cards.

"Okay I follow him" Dot relented with a slight chickle of her own. "Turns out turns out predicting the future with tarot cards is very complicated" she added as she flipped over a card with a beautifully painted chalice. "But I do see birthday presents in your future."

"Dot!" My sister and I said as Dot put two bags on the counter, we told her not to get us anything this year. Of course the woman didn't listen. So when she told us to open the bags, we obliged.

"Wow, this is great, Dot, thank you!" I smiled when I pulled out a grey, cropped sweater with black heart like leopard spots. It was awesome.

"Yea you might want to keep those on the DL" Dot informed us when Clary pulled out fishnet top. "Cuz your mom's my boss and I don't want her to flip out." My top wasn't as revealing as Clary's, but mom would still wig out anyways.

"That's how we know it's cool" Clary told her. "You know" my twin continued. "You're way better at gift giving than magically predicting the future."

"Nothing magical about it" Dot shrugged "I just get you girls the things I would wear." She paused for a moment and smiled at the both of us. "Happy birthday" she said to us, hugging my first then Clary. But as she pulled away, Dot got a strange look in her eyes in she stood stock still.

"Hey, you okay Dot?" I asked, seemingly snapping the woman out of the...trance or whatever it was.

"Yea. Yea" Dot nodded, waving off the question. "Happy birthday, go up and see your mom."

Nodding, Clary and I grabbed out bags and went up the apartment above our mothers antique shop.

"Mom!" Clary called out as soon as we walked through the door.

"You did it yay!" our mother cheered.

"You also follow Simon?" Clary asked, causing me to snicker.

"He only has 93 followers, he needs the retweets" came moms reply as she hugged us. "Congratulations" she added.

"Thank you" Clary smiled.

"Hashtag stalker mom" I joked as mom let go of Clary and hugged me. When she pulled away, mom grabbed two wooden boxes from the coffee table.

"Happy birthday, girls" she said, handing us each one. Inside of Calgary's box was a silver...stick thing, wrapped with more silver and tipped with a small, clear crystal. It was pretty. Mine was similar to Clary's. Only it was embellished with fairy wings, and the crystal was a pretty rose color.

"It's called a stele" Mom told us as my sister and I looked over the objects in our hands.

"What is it, like some kind of paperweight?" Clary asked.

"It's too small for that" I told her as I turned the metal stick over in my hand.

"It's much more than that" Mom added. "They're very ancient, and I want the two of you to have them. They're family heirlooms."

"We Fray's have heirlooms?" Clary asked. I couldn't blame her for asking, Mom never mentions anything about our family. Especially not her life before we were born.

"A few" Mom nodded.

"You know, it's weird" Clary said, running her hands over a mark on the stele. "I doodled something like this, this morning."

"You must have seen it around the house or something" I shrugged. Looking down at the stele in my own hands, there was an identical marking.

"Girls, I need to tell..." but Clary's cell beeped with a new text.

"It's Simon" she told me "He's on his way. We need to get ready." Nodding I grabbed my bag and stood.

"But we need to talk. The three of us..." Mom said. She had this weird, worried look in her eye.

"We can't right now, we gotta change"

"We're seeing Champagne Enema tonight" I added.

"What?" Mom asked, confused at the term.

"Yea I know" I agreed. It was a stupid name. "It's the new band name."

"And Simon and Maureen are taking us out after" Clary added.

"But it's...it's your 18th birthday and, uh, everythings going to change for you girls now." Mom inhaled. Honestly, if we didn't already have plans, then I would have forced Clary to stay in. I was getting this really weird vibe from mom.

"Mom, we've had the talk. We're good" Clary smiled and the two of us turned to walk towards our room.

"We need to have a different and much more important talk" Mom said, grabbing both of our hands to stop us from walking away.

"Clary maybe we should..." But Clary cut me off before I could say anything more.

"And we will, but can it be over breakfast?" she asked.

"Love you mom" I added as Clary and I kissed both of mom's cheeks before walking to our room.

It didn't take long for my twin and I to change clothes. Although Clary just changed her shirt, I changed my entire outfit. Switching out my tank top for the shirt Dot had given me, and a pair of black skinny jeans. After grabbing a black leather jacket, I looked at the stele thing mom gave me.

I don't know what drove me to do it, but a moment later, the metal stick was in my pocket.

"You ready to go?" Clary asked as she pulled on a green hoodie. Covering up the fishnet top that Dot had given her.

A second later we were walking back downstairs. Where apparently Luke was waiting for us with our mom. I wonder if Clary knows how in love those two are. Probably not, she doesn't even know that Simon's in love with her.

"Hey Luke!" we spoke in unison, walking over to the counter they were standing at.

"Hey!" Luke greeted. "Incredible drawings" He said to Clary as he motioned towards my sisters portfolio.

"Thanks" Clary smiled.

"And I got you these" Luke added, placing two six packs of paints front of us. "Spray paints."

"Oh, they're perfect" Clary smiled as she looked at the cans of paint. Even though Clary was the one who was all about drawing, I knew my way around a painting too. I just don't draw all that much, so I'm not as good as my twin.

"If I catch any of that paint on city walls, I will arrest you" he continued, looking more at me than Clary. As a cop, Luke was dead serious. Although I don't think he would actually try to put us behind bars or anything.

"The paint is for Simons van" Clary told him matter of factly.

"Clary and I are insisting that they rename the band" I added, looking to mom, since she was the only one other than us who knew Simons stupid band name.

"Oh, yes, please" Mom nodded. Even she thought the name was stupid.

"Did your mom talk to you about those?' Luke interrupted, motioning to the stele's that were stick out of my and Clary's pockets.

"The heirloom," Clary smiled "Yea it's beautiful.

"Clary, Lily, you two are 18 now and..." Luke started.

"We're turning 18," Clary began.

"But it's not like we're going on some crazy epic journey or anything" I finished.

"But you are!" came the best friends voice. "See, we are going to Lombardi's to celebrate after the gig." Simon said as he came over and tickled my sisters side. He knew better than to try that with me, I couldn't control my arms and legs when tickled. That usually ended up with Simon breaking something.

"You should come back here after" Mom suggested. "Th-the city's not that safe right now" she added, motioning to Luke for back up.

"Don't worry mom, we'll be okay" I smiled, grabbing one of the spray paint six packs.

"Yea, we'll take a rain check" SImon added as Clary grabbed hers and the three of us walked out the door. "What!" Simon stopped and turned around. "Do I smell chicken cacciatore?" he asked.

"Simon, your gig." Clary reminded.

"You're singing?" Luke asked.

"Yea," Simon nodded. "Big gig, and by 'big gig' I mean 'not so'"

After a minute of trying to get mom to let go of us, and swearing that we would be home to talk over breakfast, we were finally on our way to see Simon and Maureen perform.

* * *

"Our mom has been crazy over protective lately" Clary said. We had some time to kill before 'Champagne Enema' hit the stage, so the four of us spent those minutes sitting on top of Simon's van.

After Clary and I finished tagging 'Champagne Enema' on the side paneling of course. Stupid name.

"So you remember how in 'Aliens' the alien queen was defending her eggs from Ripley?" Simon asked.

"In this scenario is our mom Ripley or the alien?" Clary asked from in between Simon and I.

"Both" SImon shrugged. "Yea, a mother defending her young."

"Defending us from what?" I asked.

"I spend all day in an art studio and Lilly is a black belt who teaches little kids karate" Clary added. "Our lives couldn't be anymore...mundane."

"Besides, we don't really know much about when she was young"I told Maureen and Simon.

"Just do what I do and get all the dirt from the relatives." Maureen suggested.

"We could, but, she doesn't have any" Clary told her. "And our dad died before we were born."

"So you have no one" Maureen stated. "No uncles, no aunts, no third cousins twice removed?"

"It's always just been the three of us" I shrugged.

"That's why the Lewis clans has added four chairs to ever seder since preschool." Simon informed. "One for Clary, One for Lilly, One for Jocelyn and one for Elijah."

Then Clary and Simon did a little back and forth. The sort of thing they had always done. I don't think they noticed the little green glint show up in Maureen's gaze. She has been in love with Simon since forever. Almost as long as Simon's been in love with my sister.

"You guys don't think that's a little bit suspicious?" Maureen asked. "You not knowing anything about your family? Your mom could be hiding some deep dark secret" she added, causing me and my sister too laugh.

"Impossible" Clary shook her head.

"Inconceivable" I joked.

"Our mom is is physically unable to conceal anything from us" Clary added.

I couldn't help but feel like Maureen was grasping at straws. As if she was trying to find a way to blacken Clary Fray's name in Simon's mind. Good luck with that lady.

* * *

I don't know why Clary talked me into this. Oh yea, Simon was our best friend, that's why. And no matter how much I do not like the music Simon and Maureen play, it's always good to support the best friend.

Clary and I sat together on one of the couches. Directly in front of the 'stage', if you could call it that. So of course I had the perfect view of Maureen given Simon lovey eyes, while Simon was sending them directly to Clary. It was all incredibly awkward.

Their set ended with 'Forever Young' and we exited the stuffy coffee shop directly after that.

"Thanks for being our roadie" Maureen stated, as if she was trying to remind my sister of her place. I liked Maureen, I really did. But she needed to cool it.

"Yea, and thanks for being our artist in residence" SImon added as he started to change into a different shirt.

"Of course," "No problem" Clary and I said at the same time.

"So you went on stage tonight as Champagne Enema" Clary said. Seeing where she was going, I grabbed a can of black spray paint.

"What were we thinking?" Maureen and SImon shared a laugh. She had a point, what were they thinking. Seriously, Champagne Enema?

"But now..." Simon started "We're Rock Solid Panda."

Well...it was better than Champagne Enema.

"Yea we are!"

"Rock Solid Panda, coming up" I chuckled.

"I'm feeling inspired." Clary added, grabbing a can for herself before we went to the side of the van and got to work.

It was only when Simon spoke fifteen minutes later that Clary and I stepped back from the van.

Below the first two band tags was the new name, Rock Solid Panda. But dead center was a symbol that looked sort of like the astrological symbol for Taurus. But more... I don't know, pointy?

It was also eerily familiar. I didn't remember tagging it, and apparently neither did Clary. Weirder and weirder.

"You know they have confirmed cases of people waking up in the morning speaking french and they never even studied the language."

I know that Maureen meant well, and was more than likely trying to be helpful. But I just keep on thinking that she is trying to get between what could possibly happen between my sister and our best friend.

"Do you think thats some kind of language?" Clary asked.

"Sanskrit maybe?" Maureen suggested with a shrug.

It was then that a rediculously hot blonde guy walked in between Clary and I. Bumping out shoulders in the process.

"Hey, can you watch where you're going?' Clary suggested, turning to face the guy.

"You can see me?"

* * *

Apparently, Simon and Maureen couldn't see the inked out, hot as hell blonde guy. So Clary and I shared our outer layers, grabbed our wallets and the two of walked into the club near where Simon had performed. Pandemonium.

Inside the club was...strange. People with glowing eyes, long clawed fingers and pointed ears. It was like there was a crazy cosplay rave going on. I don't think Clary was seeing the same thing I was, because when I turned to ask, she didn't seem to notice anything other than ordinary people.

Simon and Maureen didn't noticed anything either. So either I was going crazy, or something really weird was going on. I didn't even acknowledge Simon and Maureen leaving our side to go to the bar.

As we followed Hot-Blonde-Guy, we watched as he went behind a privacy curtain with two other people. People who had the same tattoos he does. Strange.

While Clary latched herself onto a guys with eyes that were literally glowing, I just walked through the curtain.

From the corner my sister and I stowed ourselves away in, we watched as the blonde came up behind a leggy brunette with a short purple dress. The two were talking about something. What, I couldn't begin to say. But it was barely a minute later and they guy was pulling a...was that a freaking sword! Oh holy hell.

"What out!" My sister screamed as she ran towards the trampy looking chick and pushed her away from the blonde. Only for her get pushed back into me.

"What the hell is that!" I said, looking at the other woman, whose mouth had split in a way a normal mouth shouldn't.

Everything that happened next was a blur. I watched on as person after person, if you could call them that, evaporated.

I couldn't help but let out a shriek when I was gripped up by one of those...things. After a moment of shock, I began to fight back. I started taking karate for a reason, after all. When the guy wouldn't stay down, I did the only thing I could think of. I grab the stele my mom had given me and jammed it into the things neck. Holding it there as he sizzled and, well, vanished.

But there was another one coming my way. Apparently Clary had gotten her hands on one of those cool glowing sword things. While she was terrified and trying to defend herself, I was getting backed into a corner. Or at least I would have been in a corner, if I didn't end up back to back with a girl around my age wielding a nifty glowing sword.

"There's another seraph blade in my jacket" she shouted at me, nodding towards her discarded jacket nearby. Without saying a word, I kicked a monster guy away from me and slid towards the jacket.

I could feel the hilt of the blade in the pocket. The instant I grabbed it, it lit up. On instinct, I thrust the blade up, and eviscerated the monster guy I had just kicked.

Pure instinct took over and I fought against the onslaught. It was only when I saw Clary running from the room that I dropped the blade and ran after her.

Understandable my sister was absolutely freaking out.

* * *

"...Tentacles came out of the body-builders face and...and then the guy just...vaporized" Clary explained to our mom when we got home a few minutes later.

"We had to have been drugged, right?" I asked, biting my lip. I mean yea, fighting those things felt good, felt right. But there was no way it could be real.

"What did the markings look like, on the blonde boy you were talking about?" Mom asked., obviously missing the point of the story.

"Who cares, mom, okay? Are you even listening to me?" Clary was frantic. "I think I killed a guy."

"I killed, like, five. Not that it's a contest, but...yea a bunch of people were killed." I don't know why I wasn't freaking out like my twin.

"Girls!" Mom exclaimed to get our attention. It worked. As soon as our eyes were on her, mom pulled a stele of her own and ran it down her arm. Revealing a very familiar mark."Did they look like this?" she asked.

"Mom, what the..." Clary's eyes were wide with shock. I couldn't even speak.

"Everything you girls saw tonight has a meaning" Mom told us as she stood "and an explanation and I've regretted having this conversation since the day you two were born."

"What's going on, mom?" I asked as she walked over to us. "Are we going insane?" I stammered. I really hope that isn't the case.

"No, you're not" Mom reassured. "But the protections are wearing off. You two are 18 now and you need to know the truth."

"Protections?" I asked.

"What does that even mean? Mom, you're scaring the hell out of me."

"I know, and that's why I've put this off until the last possible minute." But before mom could continue, Dot came running into the room.

"Jocelyn, look out the window" She said as she caught her breath. "Magnus called to warn us. They found you." As Dot spoke, mom ran over to the window.

"Dot, it's time" she called before running back over to us. "Okay, listen to me." Mom started as she walked back over to Clary and I. "You two cannot be near me."

"What's happening?" Clary asked. I was just as confused as my twin.

"I've gotten a very powerful person angry."

"What did you do?" I asked as we watched mom rummage through one of her decorative boxes.

"I took something from him" Mom said, walking back to us with a large chunk of purple crystal. "And his followers."

"Followers?" Clary and I questioned at the same time. And then of course Clary suggested calling the cops. Mom's rebuttal, of course, was to call Luke. Right before she clasped the necklace around Clary's next.

"Mom this is not the time for a birthday gift, what the hell is happening?" Clary asked, finally raising her voice. But instead, mom handed me an object similar to the seraph blade I had used earlier at Pandemonium. Only the hilt was adorned with pink and purple jewels and fairy wings.

"Only if you need it" Dot told my mom as she handed over a an orb of glowing green liquid.

"Trust your instincts" Mom told us, " You're more powerful than you know."

* * *

Mom had told us to find Luke. That he would protect us. But as Clary and I ran out of the police station and into the rain, that was absolutely not the case.

We had over heard Luke, the man we trusted with our lives, tell some random creeps that our mom meant nothing. That our family meant less than nothing to him. The only thing he cared about some some Cup, and that he didn't care if we lived or died.

After our deserved moment of shock, Clary and I ran out into the rain. All the way back to the antique shop and our apartment.

"They...They took Jocelyn. " It was Dot. Mom was gone, and all that was left behind was Dot and an empty apartment.

Instantly, I activated my seraph blade. It looked like Dot, I knew it had to be her. But while my sister was letting her guard down, I was putting mine up. Mom had told me to trust my instincts, and that's exactly what I was doing.

"Who took her?" Clary asked.

"Rogue Shadowhunters looking for the Mortal Cup."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked as Dot crept forward, my seraph blade hidden behind my back.

"Think, girls" Dot continued, ignoring my question. "Did your mother ever talk to you about a cup? A very important cup. I-It's gold almost like a chalice."

"No! No we don't know anything about a cup, Dot" Clary told her. "One of the antiques downstairs?" she asked with a stammer.

"No, no, not those" Dot shook her head. "Think, girls. This could save Jocelyn."

"Do you really think we could focus on something like that when someone kidnapped our mother!?" I asked, raising my voice.

"You know more than you think you do, Clary Fray" Dot growled, lunging at my sister with eh same face as the monsters at the club. Before I could react and bring the sword out from behind my back, Clary was shoving her stele through the creature's abdomen.

That just seemed to piss the thing off. As it lay on the floor, then body of Dot twitched and it growled as it morphed into something grotesque. Before Clary and I could react, it lunged. I could feel one of it's claws nick my exposed shoulder as it shoved me out of the way. And everything faded away before black took over my vision.

What seemed like forever later, there was a flash of blonde telling me that we would be alright.

* * *

"Oh good, you're awake" I heard a voice speak as I finally opened my eyes. Turning my head I saw that my sister had also been asleep. Sitting at the foot of my bed was the brunette from Pandemonium. "I've never seen Jace so curious about a mundane. Let alone two" she said, looking between me and my sister. "Or distracted," the girl continued. "Like you saw earlier, distractions are dangerous in our line of work."

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Clary said, looking over to my bed. "You okay, Lily?" she asked me.

"Yea" I groaned as I sat up. "Who're you?" I asked the brunette.

"Isabelle" she said.

"Lily" I nodded in greeting. "Who's Jace?" I asked.

"You two really don't know much, do you?" Clary just shook her head.

"All I know is some...psycho's took our mom and now you've taken me" My sister responded.

"And by 'taken' I assume you mean 'saved your life." Isabelle chuckled.

"Mundane shouldn't even be here" came a deep male voice. Turning I saw two males, both had also been at Pandemonium with Isabelle.

"Where is here, exactly?" Clary asked.

"They're not mundanes, Alec" the blonde said. I think he even rolled his eyes.

"who do you know?" the one I'm assuming was called 'Alec' asked.

"Cuz they both have used seraph blades."the blonde defended. "Look, Isabelle, can you..."he motioned for Isabelle to move from her spot on my bed. Even though he could have easily sat on Clary's. "I'm Jace Wayland."

"I'm Li..." but he cut me off.

"Lily and Clary Fray, we know who you two are" Jace finished.

"Am I the only one who finds this unusual?' Alec asked.

"You find everything unusual, Alec" Jace responded.

"I have to report this to the Clave."

"Why don't you dial it down a notch"Jace suggested.

"My brother doesn't have a dial" Isabelle commented with a smile. "I love you, Alec, but you have a switch that's always on."

Isabelle and Alec left a while later, probably so that they could talk to the Clave. Whatever the hell that was.

"Your wounds have healed" Jace pointed out. Instantly I looked at the spot that the monster had slashed me. There was nothing. Not even a scar.

"How is that even possible?" I asked.

"What we're miraculously healed and all of you...stunning people have magical powers?" Clary asked.

"No" Jace laughed. "Don't confuse me for a warlock."

"A what?" Clary asked, I could help but let out a snort of laughter. Sometimes my sister was really dense.

"A warlock...it's one of the Downworlders" Jace explained.

"So warlocks are magic, you guys are not. But you can do stuff that normal people can't got it" I nodded, causing Jace to smirk slightly.. But Clary still didn't really understand.

"You two aren't making any sense" my sister shook her head.

"Warlocks, vampire's, seelies..."

"I think my sister's brain might explode" I commented, pulling my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them.

"Jeez, alright" Jace sighed. "I'll keep it simple for you...all the legends are true. We're Shadowhunters" he explained. There's that word again. I've heard it twice now and I still have no clue what it means. "We protect the demon world from the human world. So those people you saw murdered at the Pandemonium...they weren't people at all. They were shape shifting demons."

"I'm not interested in being a part of your supernatural fight club" Clary shot back. "I just wanna find our mom. The rest of it, whatever it is, all I care about is finding our mother."

"Can you help us find her?" I asked, pulling my knees closer to my body.

"I'm the best chance you've got."

Suddenly, Clary's phone rang, interrupting the silence. It was Simon, of course it was Simon. From what I could hear through the speaker, Clary and I had been out for a few days. And apparently he was being a stalker and used the 'Find My Friend' app to track us down. Well, Clary more than me.

So of course the best friend was right outside.

"Um, what, uh...what happened to our clothes?" Clary asked when she finally realized we were broth wearing nothing more than large t-shirts.

"Demon venom. Remember?" Jace answered. Well, that was obvious. "Isabelle left you these."he added, pointing the two sets of clothes. Clary was almost appalled by the lack of coverage our new ensembles provided. Jace mentioned that Isabelle was very comfortable with her body.

It only took a minute to change. Isabelle apparently thought it would be funny for Clary and I two have matching outfits. Only she provided me with jewelry.

"So, how's this...mark get on my neck?" I asked Jace. I knew it was there before I looked in the mirror. But I didn't bring it up till now. Since Clary had been freaking out too much to notice.

"I drew that" He said. Clary, obviously and rightfully had a problem with it. "Duly noted" Jace told her when she all but scolded him "I guess next time I'll just let you and your sister die. And it's not a tattoo" he added, standing from the bed and walking over to us. "It's a rune, and they have enormous power. Good for Shadowhunters, Lethal for humans. But you already know all about runes, don't you?" he asked my sister, picking up her notepad.

But Clary, of course, had no clue what he was talking about. Neither of us did. We just thought that the symbols Clary was drawing was just random nonsense for the graphic novel. We didn't even imagine that they were something real.

A minute later we were walking through what Jace called 'The Institute'. And it was amazing. Honestly I couldn't wait to explore the place, if I ever got the chance.

"You're not going to kill Simon, are you?" Clary asked Jace as we walked.

"Protect the humans, kill the demons. You'll get it eventually" was Jace's answer. Seemed simple enough.

"So, why can't Simon see you?" Clary asked as we walked down the stairs of the old church.

"This is a glamour, a rune that makes me invisible to mundanes" Jace explained, lifting the hem of his shirt to show us his run. Located on his pelvic bone. I wonder if he knew how much of a tease he was. "Which is a shame," he continued. "Cuz, well, denying them all this."

Yea, he knew. Jerk.

"What do you have on, Clary?" Simon asked, taking off his sweatshirt and wrapping it around my sisters shoulders. "Let me take you two home."

"I don't think we have one anymore" Clary told him. I just bit my lip and shifted awkwardly from behind my sister. She wasn't wrong, mom was gone, Dot was replaced by some kind of demon and our apartment was a burnt out shell.

Basically Clary and I were homeless.

"Why?" Simon asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well..." Clary started to explain, but she was interrupted by someone shouting our names.

"Clary and Lily Fairchild!"

And then we watched as Jace fought the man. I wanted to help, but then Simon would just think my sister and I were more crazy than we already seemed. Considering he couldn't see Jace or the guy he was fighting.

I'll have to have Jace show me the glamour rune again. Purely for Shadowhunting purposes. Not because of where his is located. Not at all.

And then of course when Jace finally killed the guy, Clary ran over and started talking to thin air. Or at least that's what Simon saw. Until a dead body randomly appeared at her feet.

"Jace can you de-glamourize so that the best friend doesn't think Clary and I are completely bat shit?" I asked, rubbing my forehead.

"Um...what is happening?" Simon asked when Jace appeared out of nowhere.

"We don't have the luxury right now, kid. Everyone back inside" Jace ordered, while Clary stayed still I fell in line with Jace. He was the veteran when it came to this stuff. Seemed better to listen to him.

"Who is this guy, Clary, your meth dealer?" Simon asked.

"Dude, you seriously think Clary and I are on drugs?" I asked, turning to look at my best friend.

"Well..." he trailed off, looking at the matching leather outfits we were wearing.

"What, because we're dressed differently than normal?" I all but scoffed. I was cranky.

"We've seen him before" Clary interrupted, pointing to the body at her feet. "At the police station."

"He's a member of the Circle" Jace told her "Clary, he's here for you and your sister."

"He's with the people who took our mother" Clary responded.

"Right" Jace agreed. "Your little best friend here led him right to you. he's here to capture or kill you."

"There's a dead body there, we have to call Luke" Simon told us.

"We can't trust Luke, Simon" I scoffed.

Then there was a weird tug of war for my twin. Like what the hell guys, I'm here too. So, with a roll of my eyes, I turned and strutted back into the Institute.

* * *

 **AN: So this is my attempt at a Shadowhunters fanfic. Honestly I don't know how this is gunna go, so just bare with me, lol.**

 **Sooooo what did you think? I feel like Lily's personality kind of bounces around between a bitch and happy/playful. I'm still kinda figuring out the character, and Clary kind of aggravates me, lol.**

 **My biggest hurdles will be Jace/Clary and then the sibling-ness. That's gunna be difficult. Since I've read the books (almost all of them) I know what happens buuuuut it's just getting there thats gunna be a project lol.**

 **Anyways, yea tell me what you think. I'd also like to hear any ideas for things you all might like to see happen in this story!**

 **As Always, Leave Love**

 **)0( Iris RainbowWolf )0(**


	2. The Descent to Hell Is Easy

**Nephilim**

 **Chapter Two**

 **The Descent Into Hell Isn't Easy**

I rubbed at the birthmark on my wrist as I walked through the Institutes doors. I knew that Clary, Jace and Simon were following, but I pretty much ignored everything they were saying. That feeling that I've had just about my entire life was washing over me yet again. It was always Clary.

Don't get me wrong though, my sister was my best friend. There was no one that I loved and trusted more than my twin.

"Where are we?" Simon asked. Glancing back, I saw Jace holding on to Simon's hand. I couldn't help but chuckle at that and as soon as I did, Jace let go. "Clary, is there a war going on that I don't know about?"

"There is now" Jace answered, his eyes met mine before drifting down to my wrist. Realizing that he saw my nervous habit, I quickly let go and folded my arms over my chest.

"Clary and I think our mom might be at the center of it" I added once the three of them were at my side.

"What is this place?" Simon asked as we walked. "There's a lot of gear in here, what'd they do...rob a tech shop." Again I chuckled.

When we stopped in front of one of the computers, I watched as Jace pressed a few spots on the small screen and sent the image to the large one in front of us. There were cops outside.

"So this cold-blooded killer's going to help us?" Simon all but scoffed.

"He's not a killer" Clary and I answered at the same time. "He's protecting us"

"Specifically you two" Jace clarified. "It's sort of our thing" he couldn't help but add. It was obvious that he was trying to get a rise out of Simon. Even Jace could see how Simon felt about my sister.

"Your thing?" Simon asked. "Y-you guys have a thing?"

"He means a shadowhunter thing"Clary rolled her eyes.

Right, Clary. That's what Jace meant.

"It is what shadowhunters do" I sighed, flipping my hair over my shoulder. "protecting humans, killing demons..."

"Demons...right" Simon nodded in disbelief. "That makes perfect sense because there are demons running around all over New York." `

"That is the first correct thing you've said all day" Jace responded.

"'NYPD'" one of the officers spoke as the pounded on the church's doors.

"Won't they find us?" Clary asked.

"No" Jace shook his head. "Our wards will deter them. And the NYPD will do their typical mundie thing for a few hours, then the area will be clear."

"What is going on?" Alec asked, walking over to us. He had a major serious face gong on. That guy really needed to loosen up. "Why is there a mundane in the Institute?"

"A Circle member followed him to get to Clary and Lilly" Jace sighed.

"Dude had a circle rune on his neck, just like the creeps at the police station." I informed the dark haired shadowhunter.

"And the guys who took our mother" Clary added.

"What is a Circle member?" Simon asked tentatively. "And why are they trying to kill us?"

And so Jace and Alec told us about the revolt. About how the Circle rose up and tried to pretty much do the whole 'world domination' thing. A Lot of good shadowhunters died. Just by the look in Jace's eyes, I could tell they were good.

But of course Jace and Alec didn't know much about what had happened all those years ago. There were rules, forbidding the subject to be taught.

"There has to be someone who can tell us about what had happened back then" I stated as Jace walked over to where Isabelle sat.

"There is," Jace said. "You coming?"

"Right behind you" I nodded, walking over to him. Clary and Simon hot on my heels.

"No, No, No. Not you" Jace said, stopping Simon in his tracks.

"Hey, we're a package deal."Clary wasn't wrong. Her and Simon have done just about everything together since the day they became friends.

"There are runes all over the training room floor that would kill your mundie boyfriend" Jace just about threatened as he pointed toward the training room.

Aaaaaand then Simon got friendzoned...by himself.

"And I'm tough" SImon told Jace. "I can handle runes. So, uh, bring on the runes...wh-what exactly are runes?" he asked.

"They give shadowhunters our demon hunting abilities."

I swear I saw Simon's glasses steam up when Isabelle walked over to us. Wouldn't blame him, the girl was hot and she knew how to work it.

"Don't worry, Clary, I'll watch over the best friend" Isabelle offered. "In fact, I was just about to make breakfast." At that, Jace winced.

"On second thought , the runes might be less lethal." He wasn't joking, I could tell.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. Please excuse my brother's lack of manners. This is Alec..." she pointed to the shadowhunter in question, before offering her hand. "And I'm Isabelle."

"Lewis...Si-Simon Lewis" he stammered as he gripped Izzy's fingers and shook. "It's t-two first names. Am I still talking?" Simon asked, causing Isabelle to nod with a flirty chuckle.

Smooth. Really Smooth, Simon.

"See? The best friend is safe and sound here" Jace told my sister.

Of course Clary wanted to keep Simon at her side. But I had to agree, for his safety it would probably be best that he stayed behind with Isabelle. Simon obviously changed his mind, thanks to the Shadowhunter bombshell of course.

"So where are we going?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest as I turned to face Jace.

"Training room" he responded, pointing to the room in question.

I looked through the doors and watched as two Shadowhunters, one male and one female fought against each other. There was something about the guy, though. Something that unnerved me. Instinct told me not to trust him.

"That's Hodge Starkweather" Jace explained. "Our weapons trainer. And, more importantly, and ex-Circle member."

That would explain the intense distrust I had for the man.

"After the Uprising" Jace continued "Hodge repented and he was sent here to live and make amends. But he's forbidden to ever leave the Institute."

We waited, and watched as Hodge fought the woman before taking his blades and slicing her staff in two. Once the match was over, the three of us walked over to Hodge, who looked at Clary with a soft smile.

"Jocelyn," he said, causing my sister to shake her head in confusion.

"I'm Clary, this is my sister Lilly" she informed the man. "Jocelyn Fray is our mother."

"She was Jocelyn Fairchild when I knew her" Hodge responded. "She was one of my best friends."

"She's been kidnapped" Clary wasted no time.

"Yea, by some creep named Valentine" I sighed.

"By the Circle, Hodge..."

"But that's impossible," Hodge said in disbelief. "Valentine's dead and the Circle died with him."

Suddenly the angry red Circle rune on Hodge's neck began to glow. As it did, Hodge doubled over in pain.

"What's happening?" Clary and I asked at the same time.

"I swore a vow never to speak of what we did" the elder blonde finally spoke once the pain seemingly wore off. "This is the Clave's way of making sure I keep that vow."

"We can't torture him, Jace," Clary stated.

"Is there any other way to get the information?" I asked, looking Jace, who was standing next to me.

"If the Circle really is back" Hodge interrupted, his breathing was heavy as he fought the pain that the rune brought him, "And they really have taken Jocelyn...Their le-leader was Valentine Morganst-stern" he stammered.

Though I still had that inkling of distrust, I couldn't help but applaud this Shadowhunter. He was torturing himself to give us the information we needed.

"We thought he wanted to protect humans, like all Shadowhunters. But we never realized the lengths to which Valentine was willing to go. The p-people he was willing to sacrifice. M-Most of humanity would have died if we had carried out Valentine's plans."

"I don't get it, what does our mom have to do with any of this?" I asked. And then Hodge dropped the bomb.

"Jocelyn was a member of the Circle as well. "

"No way" I stated in disbelief.

"I don't believe it" Clary shook her head.

What else didn't we know about our own mother? About ourselves? This was all becoming too much.

"The important thing" Hodge told us "Was that Jocelyn left the Circle. So none of this even matters because Valentine died in a fire years ago." At that, Hodge's Circle rune lit up once more. Only this time the pain brought him to his knees.

"I'm sorry" Clary apologized "We can't ask you to do this."

"Clary" I shook my head "We really don't have a choice."

"Lilly's right" Jace agreed as he helped Hodge to his feet. "You understand that, Hodge, right?" he asked the man.

"Jace and Lilly are right" the tortured man nodded as he tried to catch is breath. "Valentine would have destroyed the Shadow World, and the rest of humanity along with it. If he had gotten the Cup..."

"Wait a minute," Clary cut him off. "Our mother told us that she hid something from someone..." she trailed off.

"Could it be this Cup?" I asked, looking at Jace.

"Lilly, Clary, the Mortal Cup is the most important object in the Shadow World" Jace told us as he held up Hodge. "Whoever possesses it could create more Shadowhunters."

"And in the wrong hands" Hodge continued "Control demons. If Jocelyn hid the Cup from Valentine, then she's in more danger than you could possibly imagine.'

At that Hodge couldn't hold in his pain anymore and fell to the ground. Honestly it looked like he was having some kind of seizure. As I watched Hodge writhing and convulsing with shock waves of pain, I couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"I hate to make you suffer like this" my sister whimpered.

"I'm so sorry" Hodge whispered through the pain. "Your mother was just trying to protect you. The both of you" he added. "And now you must protect her. Stop Valentine, before he destroys us all."

* * *

We left the training room not too long after that. While Clary was visibly upset with the information we were just given, I kept how disturbed I was hidden. Sure I didn't know much about this Circle, or Valentine, but I could tell that it was evil. So how could my mother be a part of something like that to begin with?

"In the Shadow World, no training and no plan gets you killed." Jace told us after he tried to get my sister to calm down. Clary just shook her head and leaned against the stone wall.

"So Valentine is back from the dead and looking for this magic Cup" I changed the subject. "And for some reason he thinks, our mom has it."

"Could she?" Jace asked, causing both me and Clary to give him our greatest 'WTF' look.

"I don't know" I finally sighed, running a hand through my messy hair.

"Clary" Jace addressed my sister. "You know about runes, you've drawn them. You know something, think please" he urged.

"I've tried Jace, okay? but it's just this empty blackness" Clary responded.

"What about you?" he asked. "I read what you had written earlier."

"How..." I began to ask, but Jace didn't let me finish.

"I read the journal you had in your bag" he clarified. When the hell did he do that? "So can you think of anything?" Jace asked.

I was silent for a moment. Trying to think back, trying to remember anything. But there was nothing. Nothing but a black void. But how is that possible?

"Your memory's been wiped" Jace realized.

"Is that possible?" Clary asked.

"Well, Jace said all the stories are true so I'm guessing...yes, yes it is" I wanted to groan, but I settled for a sigh.

"Exactly, well, it is if you know a warlock" Jace nodded.

"What like Harry Potter?" I asked, causing Jace to look at me in confusion.

But instead of questioning me, Jace shook my comment off and explained to us that warlocks were immortal. Half human, half demon with fingers that sparked with their magic.

"Dot's fingers had this weird purple glow to them" I realized looking at my sister, who nodded.

"Yea, right before she opened the wall and our mom pushed us through..." Clary trailed off.

"That was a portal," Jace said, "Dot must have been a warlock, only they have the power to create them."

"So if we find the real Dot..."

"We might be able to find the Cup and get our Mom back" Clary finished my sentence.

"Unless she's working for Valentine" Jace shrugged.

"Even better" I smirked. "Then she'll lead us right to him."

And with that I walked passed Jace to find Izzy. I really needed a change of clothes.

* * *

"Is this the least revealing thing you have?" Clary asked as she tried fixing the tank top she had borrowed from Izzy. I don't know what she was complaining about, the shirt wasn't revealing at all. It barely showed any cleavage.

"Could be worse" I shrugged as I fluffed my red curls in the mirror, before turning to face Izzy and my sister.

"Besides, all the naughty bits are covered" Izzy smirked. "A little too much in my opinion" she added with a disappointed mumble. "At least you're showing some skin."

I just shrugged and looked down at my outfit, Black boots, tight black jeans and a tight white spaghetti strap tank top that showed just the right amount of cleavage. Unlike my sister, I was more comfortable with my body. Sure, I wouldn't wear a majority of Izzy's other outfits. But I was alright with showing a good amount of skin.

"Where's Simon?" Clary asked, changing the subject.

"Who?" Izzy asked, jokingly. "Kidding," she giggled. "He's in good hands with the boys."

"So, um..." Clary started, finally turning away from the mirror, walking past where I sat on the fainting couch to lean against the nearby pillar. "You, Alec and Jace are what, like family?" she asked.

"Translation, she wants to know if you and Jace are a thing" I clarified for my sister, though I was curious too. The guys were smoking hot.

"Why would I care?" my twin avoided.

"Because you _do_ " Isabelle reponded, though her eyes cut to me. "Don't worry" the brunette added. "In every way he's like my brother. My parents took Jace in when he was ten. We trained together, learned to fight side by side."

She wasn't lying. The look Izzy had in her eyes was the same I had for Clary. Unconditional sibling love.

"A few days ago, all I had to worry about was getting into art school..." my sister sighed.

"Which is probably more terrifying than teaching small children how to fight. And now..." I added from my seat.

"Is this the part where I give you two the pep-talk about harnessing your inner shadowhunter and accepting your _true_ destiny?" Izzy asked.

"Was that the pep talk?" we asked at the same time, causing Izzy to give a small chuckle.

"Yea, basically."

"Short, sweet and to the point. I like it" I smiled.

"Remember, you two were _born_ to do this." Isabelle stood between my sister and me, squeezing out hands as she spoke. "No matter what has happened, this is who you are."

Being a shadowhunter, finding out about about who we truly are felt right. But I couldn't help the nagging feeling in my chest. Something was trying to tell me that there was more to my life than just that.

* * *

"Lets get out of here. Just you and me. We can find Dot ourselves." I heard tell my sister as he put his jacket back on. I know he meant all three of us. But the wording still hurt.

"Simon, we're not leaving Lilly" So apparently I _wasn't_ included in Simons getaway plan. That made me feel special. "Besides there are demons out there. Actual demons with tentacles that want to _murder_ us."

"Besides, do you even know how to kill a demon?" I asked, causing Simon to look a little bit sheepish. Serves him right.

"I'm an internet search away," he told me in a tone that was barely above a whisper. The same tone he's always used with me when he was sorry about something. Serves him right.

"For some reason I don't think it's that easy" I all but scoffed as Izzy touched a rune on the wall, which caused an array of weapons to slide from the wall.

"I bet you it's not that hard" Simon countered. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, just as Jace brushed passed us.

"Fifty bucks says he doesn't approve this mission," Izzy said after Jace slapped her hand away from the shiny sword that was on display.

"I don't approve of this mission," Alec said not even a minute later.

"Wow. That was almost like 6th-grade science" I said. Clary and I have had too many moments like that to count.

"I spoke with the Clave" Alec continued, completely ignoring my comment. "They're sending Seelie scouts to search for Valentine. But they made it clear, the little girls do not leave the premises."

"Um, yea, Hi. We're legal adults, not _little girls_ " I told him with a huff, folding my arms over my chest.

"We have names," Clary added. "And I don't care what that Clave thing, or you, want; we're going to find Dot."

"Alec, thi s warlock might have the answers we need" Jace threw in. "With Valentine's people out there searching for Lilly and Clary, they're not safe outside alone."

"Jace is right"

"Et Tu, Izzy?" Alec responded with a raised eyebrow. "Alright," he continued, turning to face me and my sister. "Since you two seem to have all the answers where do you suggest we search?"

"Her apartment would probably be a good start" I shrugged. "Then there's this thrift shop she likes to go to..." I wen't to conitue, but my sister interupted me with a loud gasp. Looking at her I saw her hand on the purple gem Mom had given her. "Clary? What's wrong?"

"Um.."Clary gulped "Weirdly, I think I know where Dot is."

"Great, I'll drive" Simon smiled, pulling the keys to his van out of his pocket. "Unless you have like a Shadowhunter Mobile or something."

After a little back and forth, and a lot of arguments from Alec, we were gearing up to leave the Institute. Alec, Jace and Izzy made sure to grab their weapons and just as I tried to grab a shiny silver dagger of my own, Jace stopped me.

"I know how to handle myself," I told him

"I know" was all he said in response. "But I think these would suit you better" he added, handing me a small pouch. Forcing back a smile, I took the leather pouch from him. Inside were 3 throwing knives. "I can show you how to rune them if you want."

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, Alec called us over.

We were ready to go.

* * *

What felt like hours later, we found ourselves back at the club, Pandemonium. We ran through the alley way with Clary in the lead. Suddenly my sister stopped and put a hand to her neck, touching the crystal.

"Dot!" she yelled before jetting across the street. Clary's speed was something I had never seen from her before as she ran ahead of us. Quickly Jace and I caught up to my sister and slowed her to a stop.

"Clary, where are you going?" I asked, wishing my sister would fill me in. The crystal Mom gave her was giving my sister a weird new ability. I know it's stupid and slightly insane, but I couldn't help but be a bit jealous of my twin.

"Two men" Clary gasped for breath as the others caught up to us. "Circle members, the same ones who came to our house, the ones who took our mom. They have Dot. They're going to hurt her, or kill her. We have to stop them!"

And then my sister took off running again. Without a second thought, I was hot on Clary's heels. It was either that or leave her to face off against psycho's by herself. Not gonna happen.

Of course Pandemonium was completely empty. Except for the half-empty glasses and confetti strewed about. It was as if there was a party and the guests just vanished into thin air.

"No" my sister breathed as she stopped short in front of us, Simon at her side as always. "She was just trying to help us. Now she's gone" Clary sniffled, her fingers wrapped around the thick crystal.

"Clary, Lilly" Simon looked between us. "I'm sorry."

"Dot was like a sister to us," I said softly.

"It's not safe here" Alec interrupted. "We have to go back to the Institute right now."

"Alright" I nodded. As much as I wanted to fight, I understood that there was literally _nothing_ we could do. So why not go back to the one place we could get the intel we needed? Made sense to me.

"So what now, Valentine has our mom and Dot, and we're going to just give up?" Clary all but snapped. I could tell she was slightly offended that I wasn't taking her side.

"Sorry, Clar. But I think Alec is right" I sighed. "It'd be safer to make a plan in a place that the bad guys can't get to."

"What about our memories?" Clary asked. "They can't just be gone."

"There is another option," Jace said after a moment, sharing a look with his friends.

"Don't even" Izzy said, while her brother said "Absolutely not" at the same time.

"Close but no cigar" I tried to stifle the giggle."So what's behind door number three?" I asked Jace.

"I'm not afraid of the Silent Brothers," he told Alec and Izzy.

"Who are the Silent Brothers?" I asked. Because that name sounded eerily familiar.

"Shadow hunters with superior powers" Jace answered, his eyes not moving from mine.

"Who possesses the power to recover memories" Izzy continued.

"The process can also kill you, so there's that" Alec looked directly at my twin while he said this.

"Your bedside manner is abysmal" Simon joked. Again I had to stop myself from laughing because, well, as funny as the best friend was; this was a serious situation. Alec just completely ignored him and spoke directly to Jace.

"We've broken at least 18 Clave rules and now you want to go to the City of Bones?" he asked. "There's no way, I won't allow it."

"This isn't our choice to make," the blond told his friend, before looking at me and Clary. "This is Lilly and Clary's decision."

"You can't ask them to do this," Isabelle told him. "They don't know what they're facing. They're not prepared."

I looked at Clary and gave her a slight nod. If these 'superior shadowhunters' could get our memories back, then it was worth a try. Anything that could help find our mother and Dot. Giving me a small nod in return, I could tell that Clary agreed.

"Is there another way to get back our memories?" I asked. But no one answered my question. "You down for this?" I asked my twin out loud, I knew she was, but the others couldn't read my sister the way I could.

"Yea" Clary nodded, the tears on her cheeks finally starting to dry.

"Then that settles it," I said, looking Jace in the eye. Neither of us blinked for the longest minute of my life. Without even thinking, I started to rub at the mark on my wrist.

"See? I told you she was one of us" Jace finally broke our gaze and looked to Alec.

With that, we left Pandemonium with Jace in the lead and me following not too far behind.

"Can I drive?" I asked once we made it to Simons fan.

"NO!" Clary and Simon said loudly at the same time.

"Rude" I scoffed, as we all loaded into the back. Clary and Simon taking up the front, of course.

Soon enough we were on our way to the City of Bones. I couldn't help but wonder if it was still in New York.

* * *

"No, this isn't creepy at all" Simon said sarcastically as we stod under a bridge. There were several broken down cars and barrel-fires in the area.

"Don't tell me you're afraid' I heard Izzy tell him.

"Are you kidding me" Simons scoffed. "I was _born_ afraid..." his response made me let out a loud laugh. "That sounded a lot better in my head" he added a moment later. "Stop laughing Lilly."

"Sorry, Si. "It was hard to stop giggling after that.

"Let's check it out" Alec changed the subject. Instantly we all started to follow.

"Wait here a minute," Jace told me, putting a hand on my wrist, his thumb just barely touching my birthmark. "I wanna see if it's safe," he added, letting go of me and placing a comforting hand on my sister's shoulder.

Then we waited. I watched as the three shadowhunters wound their way through the lot, making sure there were demons in the area.

"Why are we doing this?" Simon asked Clary as soon as the others were out of ear shot. "We don't even know these people."

"I trust them," I told him with a nonchalant shrug. And I did. I don't know what it was, but I knew that they were trustworthy the night we first ran into them at Pandemonium. Jace and the others were _nothing_ like the sick bastards who kidnapped our mom.

"I just wish that mom trusted us enough to tell us about all of this" Clary sighed, gripping my hand lightly in her own.

"Me too," I told Clary, giving her fingers a squeeze. "When we get her back, we can talk give her the riot act" I added, causing Clary to smile.

"How are you two not ultra freaked out about all of this?" Simon asked, looking at Clary with admiration. Once upon a time, I wanted him to look at me like that. That was a whole other life ago, before highschool.

"I think some part of us always knew," I told him, looking to Clary for confirmation.

"Even though we had each other, I always felt like there was something missing" Clary put in.

"Like we were missing a part of ourselves" I nodded in agreement.

That's why I had my stories. Writing about my dream world seemed to bring me closer to that missing half.

"But now things are _finally_ starting to make sense," said Clary. "But none of it's going to matter unless we get our mom back."

"That's the only thing that matters" again I agreed.

"Then let's do that" Simon nodded.

Clary and Simon had a moment just then. Simon staring at my sister with love in his eyes and Clary looking at him with the appreciation of a best friend. Personally, I know she could love him if she only gave it a chance.

"Lilly" I heard Jace call out, looking to where the blond stood, I saw him hold an arm out to me and Clary. "It's all clear, let's go."

Smiling at Simon, we walked towards the shadowhunter. Clary reaching him before I could and taking his hand in her own. Seeing that caused a painful ' _thud_ ' in my chest. I hung back with Simon for a second, watching the others conviene ahead.

"It feels like this, doesn't it?" I asked him. Not that I knew what _this_ was.

"Yea."

* * *

I walked behind Clary and Jace as they talked. My arms were folded over my chest as I watched my sister flirt with our new friend. If we could call him that.

"The Silent Brothers communicate without using words," he told us. "Using just their thoughts."

"So they're telepathic," I said, jumping over a dirty mattress so that I could walk on the other side of Jace. "That doesn't sound so bad."

"Don't let their silence fool you" he said, his side brushing against mine. Stupid sexy shadowhunter. "They'll hold the Soul-Sword to your head and with it's blade, carve the truth from your mind. "If neither of you are strong enough, you _will_ die." His warning sent chills up my spine.

"Lilly, that sounds level ten bad" Clary told me, biting her lip slightly.

"You should know" Jace stopped us, grabbing Clary's upper arm and my wrist "the pain will be excruciating. You don't have to..."

"We'll do anything" Clary and I spoke in unison. "Whatever it takes" I added.

"We have to get our mom back. We can't lose her"

"You won't" Jace said with a small shake of his head, his eyes looking to my sister. But his thumb still brushing my birthmark. And action that seemed to calm my nerves ever so slightly.

And then the feeling was gone as Jace let go and walked ahead of us. We stopped a few minutes later in front of what looked the entrance to a mausoleum.

"We can do this" Clary whispered, gripping my hand in her own.

"Yea you can" Simon agreed. "You're Clary and Lilly Freaking Fray. You two can do anything" At least he included me this time.

Simon was the first to try and step towards the gate. Only to be stopped once again by Jace. Apparently, entrance to the City of Bones was lethal to humans. Which really wasn't all that surprising, considering the world of demons and shadowhunters has been kept from the mundanes for what seems like millennia.

Alec had elected to guard the perimeter, Izzy was staying with Simon. So that left Me, Jace and Clary. Fun times. Of course there was a heartfelt goodbye between my sister and our best friend. I only got a wave while I stood beside Jace. Thanks Si, love you too.

As we walked through the gate way, Jace's arm found it's way around Clary's shoulder and that feeling in my chest was back. He let her go after a moment, but still.

At the bottom of the stairs, Jace looked around the cob-web ridden alcove and exhaled before continuing. The path we took was dark, we could barely see. That is until Jace took a glowing crustal from his pocket.

"What's that?" Clary asked.

"A witch light," he told us. "We carry it to remember that light can be found even in the darkest of places."

I feel like I had heard that phrase somewhere before. Maybe in a movie or a book or something.

"And it's cooler than a flashlight" I voiced. What? Those nifty crystals _are_ cooler than a flash light. "Don't judge me" I told my sister when she opened her mouth.

"Here" Jace handed my sister the witch light and pointed us towards a large, winged statue.

"Is that meant to be the mortal cup?" Clary asked, nodding towards the stone goblet.

"Yea"

"What's that say?" Clary asked, shining the light on the sword the statue was holding.

"It's the shadowhunter creed" Jace answered. "'Looking better in black than the widows of our enemies.'"

"For Shadowhunters, the descent to Hell is easy" I read. It was as if the latin jumped off the stone and translated itself. I don't know latin.

"How did you know that?" Clary asked. She's the one who actually paid attention in latin class.

"Hell if I know" I breathed, "But that should totally be on a postcard" I tried my best to make light of the situation.

A second later, Jace pointed us down the hall and we left the Angel statue alone.

It took us fifteen minutes to reach another alcove lined with candles. Once we did, Clary handed Jace back the witch light and we stepped into the room.

"I'm sorry" Clary spoke out of nowhere. "For what I said earlier about your mom. I didn't know."

"It's cute, you assume I have feelings" I couldn't help but laugh at Jace's response. Which caused a smirk to grace those lips of his.

Then Jace told us about how he had never met his mother. And that his father had been a member of the Circle. There was more to what Jace and Clary were talking about, but I just drowned it out. Instead, I focused on the buzzing I was feeling just under my skin.

"Clary," I said, getting my sisters attention. "Haven't you drawn this before?" I asked her, pointing at the rune in the stone floor. Completely ignoring the bones that lay on the floor.

"Yea" Clary nodded. "For our graphic novel. It was in the portfolio I brought to the School. I don't know what it means, though."

"It means 'clairvoyance'," Jace told us. Before either of us could say anything, the torches lining the circle ignited. Revealing three robed men with their eyes and mouths sewn shut and even more skeletons. Cuz that wasn't creepy or anything.

"Shadowhunters" came a deep male voice, causing goose bumps to raise on my arms. One of the men came forward and lowered his hood. His eyes and mouth stitched and a rune carved into his forehead. This must be one of the Silent Brothers I've heard so much about. "Come into the circle" the man told us.

I could feel the fear coming off of Clary, and knew that she could sense my own fear. This was creepy as all hell. Gripping each other's hands tightly, Clary and I did as he told us and stood on top of the clairvoyance rune.

"Step away, Jace Wayland."

"I'll be right here" Jace said to us quietly, gripping Clary's hand and my wrist before doing as he was told. My heart was racing in my chest as we turned to face the stitched Brother. "The search of your unconscious and that of your sisters...is a perilous one."

"Please" Clary spoke. "Our memories are blocked... we have to have them back."

"If neither of you are strong enough," Silent Brother spoke as the others stepped forward "the Soul-Sword will kill you." Of course, we had known this before coming into the City of Bones.

but this was where we were supposed to be. This was our world. Mom believed in us, told my sister and I that we were strong. Powerful. Though I knew I would do whatever it took to get mom back, I didn't really _believe_ it till now.

"We're ready"

Clary and I watched as the sword hung above our heads. I couldn't help but gulp in fear as I stared up at the shar[ point. So this was the Soul-Sword. Clary's sharp nails dug into my hand, I was probably doing the same to her own hand.

"The Soul-Sword reveals all...' we weretold by the Silent Brother. All around us the Brothers chanted and the tip of the sword lowered to me nad Clary's heads. Our breathing was heavy and there was a shard pain in my wrist.. My birthmark was burning and it took all I had in me not to scream in pain.

And then. There was something that I had never seen before. At least, not that I could remember

* * *

 __*_Memory_*__

 _I was in bed reading a magazine and Clary was in her own bed across from me on the phone with Simon. Suddenly we heard hurried footsteps coming towards our room. It was Mom and Luke. Meeting Clary's gaze from across the room, we both shut out of bedside lights, and pretended to be asleep. Just like we did when we were little._

 _"Luke...no" Mom's voice came from the doorway to our bedroom._

 _"All of this lying is destroying you," Luke told our mother. "Stop blocking their memories and tell them the truth."_

 _"I_ _ **can't**_ _" our mother stressed. "You know why I can't. I promised Rose-Marie."_

 _"You're just delaying the inevitable. Clary and Lilly are Shadowhunters. There is nothing you can do to change that. Rose-Marie would understand, she would forgive you if you told Lilly the truth."_

 _"This world is too dangerous," Mom said. "if anyone knew who they were, the risks would be a hundred times worse. Especially if the others find out about Lilly."_

 _"And what happens when they find out the truth on their own? And then what?" Questioned Luke. He was just trying to look out for us, that's all her had ever protect our family._

 _"I_ _ **won't**_ _let that happen" Mom told him sternly. "If Clary ever learns about her father...if she ever finds out that her father is Valentine..."_

 __*_ Memory End_*__

* * *

I came to with a loud gasp of air. My eyes were wide and sweat pricked my forehead. The burning in my wrist was starting to ease, but it was still there. Making me want to cut off my arm.

What the Soul-Sword had shown us. What Clary and I remembered... it didn't make any sense.

"Wait..." Clary spoke. It was then that I noticed the Silent Brothers starting to retreat.

"Wh-Where are they going?" I stammered. "That can't be it."

"We can't be done" Clary sniffled.

"Clary, Lilly" Jace came forward. "Do you know where the Cup is?" he asked.

"No," We said at the same time. And then the Silent Brother spoke.

"Only fragments of their memory were accessible to us"

"What we saw can't be true," I told him with a shake of my head. There was no way.

"Your memories do not lie," he said, turning his runed-head to face my sister. "You much accept what had been revealed.

"I can't" Clary sobbed. I couldn't either.

"What is it?" Jace asked, putting his hand on my sister's shoulder. "What did you see?"

"Our mother lied to us" Clary turned to face him. "She lied all these years about our father."

"About your father?" Jace was confused. "What about your father?"

"My father..." Clary started before correcting herself. " _Our_ father...Our father is Valentine."

After we left the clairvoyance circled, I was left with one question. Who was Rose-Marie?

* * *

When we reached the top of the stairs and the gate to the Mundane world, we were met with a vacant lot and Alec.

"What happened?" he asked. "What did you find out?"

I opened my mouth to speak. But nothing would come out. I know I must have looked like a fish gasping for air. I really did want to say something, but I didn't know how to start. How do you tell someone that you are a daughter of one of a mass murder?

You don't

"Valentine is their father" Jace spoke up for us.

Someone else will eventually do it for you.

"Wait a minute" Alec's face filled with anger and disbelief. "You're telling me that these two show up out of _nowhere_ and happen to be Valentine's daughters?!" He all but shouted at Jace. "Did it occur to you that they might be spies?" he asked. I had to bite my lip in order to keep myself from lashing out or bawling my eyes out. Or both.

"You think we planned on our mom getting kidnapped?" My sister spoke for us. "O-or for Dot to be taken? Or to have a giant _sword_ hang over my head, and my sisters?! Only to find out that our father is one of the most dangerous people alive?"

The air was still for a few minutes. This was all too much. Under normal circumstances, if I were this upset I would want to go home to my bed. But now... now I just wanted to go to the training room at the Institute.

About five minutes later, Izzy came over to us. Alone.

"Where's Simon?"

* * *

 **AN: Thank you to the author of The Opposite and The Mirror, complete-randomalities, for inspiring me to finally continue this story. Hope you all enjoy**


	3. Dead Mans Party

**Nephilim**

 **Chapter Three**

 **Dead Mans Party**

* * *

If it had been me or Clary who had been kidnapped by vampires, then I would have understood. But it was _Simon_. Our funny mundane best friend was kidnapped because of me and my sister. Because our father was Valentine and Our mother stole the Mortal Cup.

The moment I saw Simon being held by the throat, I wanted nothing more than to shove a giant piece of wood through the vampires beating heart. But instead, we made our way back to the Institute. Something Clary was not too happy about, not that I blame her.

"I still don't understand. How can Shadowhunters be better than what you people call mundanes" she said as we walked through the doors, with my sister in the lead while I trailed behind Jace and Isabelle.

"Because we protect humans" Izzy answered, causing Clary to stop short in anger.

"You're right. You protect humans" she said, giving Isabelle an accusatory look. "You left Simon alone in the van. Great job you guys. You rock."

"It's not their fault Clary," I said quietly. "Sure, in retrospect there are somethings that could have been done differently, but unless there's a time-machine here in the institute that I don't know about..."

If I could go back, I would not have gone to the City of Bones with my sister and Jace. I would have stayed with the others.

"There is some truth to the idea that humans beings should have some modicum of common sense," Alec said blandly, causing Izzy to scoff.

"Alec, not now" his sister snapped.

"Look" Jace spoke up calmly as to diffuse the tension. "They won't do anything to Simon. They just wanted to draw the two of you out."

"They want the Cup and think that since our mom hid it, that we must have it" I rolled my eyes.

"What, our mom lies to us our entire lives, except 'oh, by the way, there's this magic Cup that I hid on, like, the planet Bongo, but don't tell anyone."

Sometimes my sister got sassy when she was upset.

"What are we supposed to do now?" I asked it was weird being the calm sister for once.

"We have to report to the Clave," Alec told me as he walked by us. "They have to know what we've learned about Valentine. "

"What that the psycho's our father?" I asked. "Not like we have a say, but whatever, tell them. But what does that do for _Simon_?" I asked.

"Lilly, it's all connected," Jace told me from where he leaned against the stone wall. "The vamps want the Cup."

"Why?" Clary asked. "It makes new _Shadowhunters_."

"Nobody wants Valentine forming an army loyal to himself," Alec told her. He was right. Valentine with the Cup was a bad scenario. But I didn't like the vampires having it either.

Not that anyone had it right now of course.

"Plus" Izzy looked at us "It controls demons."

"Wow, and here I thought mom's 'worlds best mom' mug was special," I muttered. No one paid attention, but I could see the corner of Jace's lips tilt up into a small smirk.

"They'll propose a trade" Jace sighed "Simon, for the Cup."

"So vampires will trade Simon for the Cup and Valentine will trade our mother for the Cup"I clarified. "That's just wonderful." With a huff, I fell back against the wall next to Jace. As I did, Jace lightly nudged my shoulder with his own.

"Either way we lose someone we love" Clary all but whimpered.

"Here's an idea. How about no one gets the cup and we find another way to get Simon and our mom back?" I suggested.

"Do you have an idea?" Jace asked.

"Well...no." Damn.

"What if I just toss it up in the air and let them fight it out among themselves?"There was no way that Clary was serious about that. That was the same as giving them the cup.

"So this doesn't matter to you?" Alec all but snapped at my twin.

"Of course it matters!" Clary and I exclaimed in unison. "What happens in the ShadowWorld effects the Mundane world, right?" I asked, glancing up at Jace

"Listen" Clary spoke once she was calm again. "When you saved our lives, I put my trust in you," she said to Jace. "Lilly trusts you and she doesn't trust _anyone_."

I really do have some major trust issues. I don't know why.

"Now you need to trust us" Clary continued, her gaze moving away from Jace. "Lilly might be a black belt, but we can turn into what you are overnight."

"It's true" Izzy nodded. "They were raised Mundane."

"What are you their spokesperson now?" Alec asked his sister. If I didn't know any better I would say that Alec was joking.

"We need a plan" and with those words, my sister walked into the Ops Center. "Look at this stuff," she stammered. "All of these screens...can any of this help me find Simon?"

"Where would they have taken him anyways?" I asked as we walked over to the nearest table. "Some creepy crypt in Transylvania?"

"Actually, no" Jace said, looking at Alec as he spoke. "That was Camille's outfit, right? They're locals."

"They're at the Hotel DuMort on Gansevoort Street," Izzy told us as she perched herself on the edge of the table.

"And we came back here?" Clary asked. "Why? We have to go there. Let's now, come on."

"We need a Clave resolution for that" Alec told her.

'The five of us can't declare war on the vamps all by ourselves" added his sister.

"And we can't react with considering our options" Alec continued. "Downworlders are slaves to their impulses, we're not."

"Alec" Izzy warned. "You can't just jump on _all_ Downworlders."

"Oh, that's right. Seelies have their charms, apparently" Alec smiled at his sister. The term, Seelie, caused a weird tingle in my wrist. Absently I ran my thumb over my birthmark, hoping to soothe my nerves.

"Seelies?" I asked. "You mean, like, fairies?"

"The Fair-Folk. Pixies, Nixies, elves...anybody half angel, half demon." Jace told me. Somehow...somehow I knew that already.

"Izzy can tell you all about them," Alec said, glancing at his sister with a smile. "She's got a _thing_."

"We've all got our _things_ , don't we?" Isabelle jokingly asked her brother. I had a feeling there was something more to her words.

"I can't listen to this" Clary was exasperated. "Simon's been kidnapped by vampires. I guess Lilly and I are just going to have to take care of it by ourselves."

We couldn't. Sure I had seen movies and Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the greatest show ever made. But that didn't mean my sister and I could kill however many vampires by our selves. Hell, Clary had only taken a handful of self-defense classes.

Meeting Jace's gaze, I sighed and followed after my sister.

"Clary" Jace called out. "You're going to get you and your sister killed" he warned but that didn't deter my sister from walking towards the door. "Clary. Simon too." And that's what did it.

"Then help me" was all my twin said as she walked back to the table. "While we consider other options, our best friend is suffering. Is that something Shadowhunters understand, or am I just being _mundane_."

Jace, Alec, and Izzy shared a look before the blond shadowhunter met my eye.

"Clary's right," he said, motioning for his friends to come closer so that our conversation wouldn't be overheard. "They made the first move. We're going to take care of this ourselves, right now."

"This is a bad idea, I..." Alec started, but Jace cut him off.

"What, have you got a better one?" he asked. "Look, the vamps broke the Accords. They kidnapped a Mundie and that's a big no-no."

I feel like that last part was for me and Clary's benefit.

"The Clave will give a lecture, and then they'll be glad we did it" he added.

"Hard to argue with that" Izzy shrugged. "Think you're up for this?" she asked me.

"Taking them out anything like what's on tv?" I asked all I was met with was a large smirk from the other female.

"Even if we went ahead," Alec interrupted. "I don't see how we get out of here without having to explain where we're going. We need weapons and we can't let anyone see us get them."

At Alec's words, my hand reached for the pouch Jace had given me earlier. The sharp knives were still inside, untouched. I knew they would be essentially useless against a vampire. Everyone knows it takes wood to the heart to kill the undead.

Or maybe one of those glowing sword things.

"I know where to get what we need," Jace said lowly.

"We'll still need a plan for if we get stopped, right?" Clary asked.

"Any ideas?" Jace asked my twin.

"Yea" I shrugged. "You're training the newbies in the field."

* * *

I had tried getting Clary to let me drive Simons van to...well, wherever it was we were going. But apparently, if you fail the drivers test more than once and kill a couple of mailboxes, that makes you unfit to drive _ever_.

So instead I rode in the back with Alec and Izzy while Clary drove and Jace navigated. The ride was filled with awkward silence and I was thankful when we stopped at a church.

"Whose grave is it again?" Jace asked.

"Mary Milligan, born January 10th, 1802. Died January 10th1878" Izzy answered, putting her phone back into her pocket as we walked into the graveyard.

"Alright, Alec, let's go," Jace said to his friend. Apparently, the guys and girls were separating.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" I asked.

"Cache of weapons," Izzy told me.

"Stashed here with Mrs. Milligan," said the shadowhunter by my side.

"Why are there Shadowhunter weapons in a churchyard?" Clary asked. As we walked, I kept a lookout for the name 'Mary Milligan'.

"Because all of the ancient religions recognize demons" Isabelle answered her. "Or at least they used to."

"They've forgotten about the threat because we've been here to protect them" Alec added. "Typical mundane failure of imagination."

"Not all mundanes lack imagination," I told him. "If you know where to look you can find people who believe in fairies and vampires and things that go bump in the night."

"Are you saying we did too good of a job, Alec?" Izzy asked her brother "You just can't let up, can you?"

I ignored the others and kept walking, intent on finding the grave. Sure, I still had the blade that mom had given me, and the daggers from Jace. But the sooner the grave was found, the sooner we could get Simon back.

Plus, getting some distance from the flirty energy that was coming from Clary and Jace was probably the best option. Clary didn't date all that often, hell she rarely even flirted with anyone. So for her, I'd take a step back and get over the attraction I felt towards the blond shadowhunter.

Because that's all it was, physical attraction.

As I wove through the graves, I was aware of Izzy leaving to meet a friend of hers. I wonder if it was the Seelie Alec had hinted about earlier.

It didn't take all that long to find what I was looking for.

"Guys found it!" I called out. "This chick had a horrible birthday" I added to my self as I ran my fingers over the raised numbers. Next thing I knew, Alec, Jace and Clary were at my side.

"Beloved servant?" my sister commented, "Who wants that on a headstone?"

"Someone who's in service to a cause greater than themselves," Alec told her.

"At least she is now" Jace added as he pulled out his stele. "Abracadabra" he added, causing me to let out a snort of laughter.

"Wait you people actually say that?" Clary asked.

"I don't think so, Clary" I giggled as Jace brushed aside the dirt and dead leaves that had piled onto the stone over the years. Quietly I watched as Jace moved his stele over the runes that were inscribed. With a nod to Alec, both guys took an end of the grave's lid and pushed it to the side.

My stomach turned as Jace blew the dust off of what I assumed as the casket. I knew we would have to get the weapons from a grave. But I completely forgot about the body. Well... the bones.

That apparently wasn't there.

"Whoa" Clary breathed. "Where's Mrs. Milligan?"

"Was there ever a Mrs. Milligan?" I asked as I looked over the weapons. But my question was pretty much ignored while Alec scolded Clary. She had grabbed one of the smaller seraph blade things and as soon as she touched the handle, it lit up with this kind of energy.

"Alec, I'm going to show them the right way to use it," Jace told his friend. "Do you see what you need in here?" he asked.

Looking at the array of weapons, Alec shook his head. "No, there's no bow here. I need one. I have to rune some arrows, that's back at the institute. I gotta go."

"How are you going to get back to the Institute?" I asked. As far as I knew, Alec didn't do mundane driving.

"I'll go in the back. They won't bother me if I'm alone" he shrugged. That didn't really answer my question, but whatever. Jace agreed and sent his friend on his way.

"I can finish up here" for some reason it sounded like Jace didn't want to be alone with me and Clary.

Pulling my throwing knives from their leather pouch, I fiddled with the blades and hoped that it didn't look like I was eavesdropping. Because I totally was.

"Hey" Alec spoke to get Jace's attention. "I understand what we need to do. And I trust you, parabatai, but don't ever doubt me. No matter what I said."

"It's already forgotten" Jace shrugged, offering his hand to Alec. "I'll see you at dawn."

And with that, and a glance at my sister and I, Alec left for the Institute.

"Okay," Jace spoke up after a moment, walking over to my twin. "Let me show you two how to use this thing."

"Let me guess, stick 'em with the pointy end," I said playfully, earning me a smirk from Jace.

"It's a bit more than that," the blonde told me, moving to stand behind my sister. "Now, it knows that you're a Shadowhunter, so to wants to respond. But you have to be firm with it. Let it know whos boss."

When his hand gripped Clary's, an unrecognizable feeling pumped through my veins. Letting out a shaky break, I pulled the hilt of the seraph blade that mom had given me. The second my fingers wrapped around it, the blade was activated. Even though the hilt was different than the average seraph blade, the actual blade of the weapon was nothing special. It looked like all the others.

Ignoring Jace and Clary, I focused on the weapon in my hand. On my breathing. The only difference between the regular swords I had trained with in the past and this seraph blade, is the pulsing energy I felt in my hands. I moved on instinct, the blade an extension of my self. This was a feeling I never had at the dojo I had trained at.

This must be the power of the Shadowhunters.

But there was something... _more_. Some kind of power itching, just under my skin.

Clary and I practiced a bit more. As I moved with ease, I could feel Jace's eyes following my movements. Taking a chance and looking up to meet his gaze. Curiosity and awe filled those blue-ish eyes of his.

Instantly I looked away and de-activated my blade so that it was just a hilt once more. Very light sabery.

"How do you know that they'll come back?" Clary asked as we walked back to the cache of weapons.

"Who? Alec and Izzy?" Jace asked, and my twin nodded. "We were raised together. They're basically my brother and sister" he added, handing me another dagger, which I instantly shoved into the bag I had kept with me.

"You know Alec doesn't like me, right?" Clary sighed. Losing faith that the siblings would actually come back to help us.

"I don't think he really likes anyone outside of his family" I shrugged and Jace agreed.

"He doesn't," he said.

"So why would he help me? Help us?" Clary asked, trying to make Jace see her point of view.

"Probably because there's an innocent involved" I shrugged. "He doesn't really have to like us to help Simon not get murdered, right?"

"Lilly!" My sister hissed.

"Clar, Simon's been kidnapped by _vampires_. And not Edward Sparkle-pants either." Jace could barely contain a snicker at my words.

"Besides, we're parabatai" Jace added, closing the lid of the sarcophagus. "There's no human bond that compares to what Alec and I have. We're bound together for life. Bound to fight together, to protect each other. In battle, our hearts beat as one."

I couldn't help the smile that came forward. I must be nice to have someone like that, someone who always had your back. Sure I had Clary, but I felt like it didn't count for some reason.

"If one of us were to die, a part of the other would die as well."

"I know he'll be here," I told my sister. And I believed that. Even without the para-whatever bond that the two men had, I knew that Alec would pull through and help us save Simon.

"So... You ready?" Jace asked us, glancing between my sister and I. With a slight smirk, I activated my seraph blade, rotating it in my hand as I did so.

"We're ready."

* * *

We had some time to kill until sunrise, and apparently, Jace knew exactly where to go.

"You want to kill time at a biker bar?" Clary asked as we walked by motorcycles and, well, I'm _assuming_ that they were people. But I could see just beyond that. Just like at the club the other night.

"We can't move on the vamps until sunrise," Jace told us. "Plus there's a few things here we'll need."

"What, a drink?" Clary scoffed.

"I don't drink" Jace shook his head as we walked into the bar, he was looking at a few motorcycles near the door.

"We need to save Simon not hang around a bunch of posers" Clary grumbled. As she did I looked around the bar. There were people arguing, people making out, and others just drinking and having a good time. But again, I could see just beyond that. The glowing irises behind a heavy fog. What the hell?

"It's not funny Jace" Clary snapped at our blonde companion. An action that caused me to chuckle as well.

"It kinda is" I giggled, earning a wink from Jace. I couldn't help but curse my hormones as a blush rose up to my cheeks.

"Shouldn't you be teaching us to fight vampires or something?" Clary did have a point but I didn't voice it.

"Do me a favor" Jace stopped short. "Look over there," he pointed inside the main part of the bar.

"A lot of people, waitress, people making out" Clary answered.

"Those two are doing more than making out" I stated, pointing out the couple who were practically having sex on their table. With their faces covered in blood. Ew

I don't think Clary was seeing what I saw, though.

"Okay, focus on them. What do you see?"

"Do I have to, it's gross" I pouted.

"Concentrate on seeing _through_ " Jace instructed, ignoring my complaint.

"Through?" Clary and I asked at the same time.

"There are different layers to reality" Jace answered. "You can peel them away. See the Shadow World."

I did as Jace instructed, and looked back at the bloody-sex couple. It was even grosser if that was at all possible. They were _feeding_ off of each other.

This wasn't just a biker bar. It was a _Vampire_ bar. Thankfully it didn't take Clary all that long to realize that some of the people here were vampires.

"You've been able to see them this whole time, huh?" Jace asked me when I looked away from the couple.

"Sort of," I said. "It was kinda... I don't know, foggy. Now it's clear and _really_ gross." I groaned, causing Jace to chuckle and put an arm around my shoulder.

"You'll get used to it," he told me, causing my eyes to roll. "Check out that guy," Jace said, pointing to a scruffy guy in a blue and white motorcycle jacket. "he's got something."

"What fleas?" I scoffed.

"Now now" Jace scolded playfully. "Bet you can't handle his charm" he challenged my sister. His arm still around my shoulders as we walked.

"Charm? Are you kidding me?" Clary asked.

"You really wanna help find Simon?" he countered. "Why don't you go compliment him on his motorcycle. They like that."

Taking the challenge my twin strutted over to the scruffy man.

"Can you ride?" he asked me lowly, his mouth dangerously low to my ear.

"Yea," I said quietly. I had gotten my motorcycle permit not too long ago.

"Lemme see your wrist" Jace ordered. Trusting him I did as I was told, having to bite my lip when his stele met my skin. "This'll stop their thrall."

"Okay?"

Why would he rune me and not my sister?

"Now, see that guy right there?" he asked, discreetly pointing to the man near where Clary's target stood. " Try and get his keys. or get him to start the bike. Then wait for my signal."

Nodding in understanding, I pulled my jacket sleeve down over my wrist and walked over to the vampire.

"Hey there" I gave him my best flirty smile. "Nice ride. You should take me for a ride sometime. I _love_ to ride" I purred. Flirting was easy. Sometimes too easy.

I could feel his influence instantly, but I wasn't swayed by it. But played along, just in case.

"Mmm, you smell good, baby. Like an angel" the vampire purred back, his fangs finally showing. "What's your name, sweetness?" he asked, twisting the key in the ignition.

"Lilly"

"Hop on, Lilly," he told me. Doing as I was told, I hopped onto the bike. Hopefully, Jace's signal would come soon, I had a feeling this vamp wouldn't wait too long.

Finally, Jace stalked over to us.

"Hey, you two having fun with my girls?" Jace asked, tugging on his gloves. Thankfully the vampires didn't see the wink Jace sent in my direction. Discreetly I scooched forward on the rumbling bike.

"Piss off, Shadowhunter" Clary's vamp snapped at Jace.

"Brad and Marcus are gonna take us for a ride," Clary said dreamily. Oh, so that was the other vampire's name. Thankfully I was right in assuming the two were friends.

"Yea, see, that's not gonna happen. Don't move Clary" he told my sister after Brad shoved him. When Jace stalked closer, Brad tried to throw a punch. Only to hit thin air. Jace appeared a second later and hit Brad so hard. The keys to the bike thrown in the air. "Lilly" I looked at me.

Nodding, I looked at Marcus who for some reason hadn't moved. With a smirk, I lifted my sleeve and showed him the rune on my wrist.

"Maybe next time, Marky" I giggled. Gripping the handlebars and pumping the throttle.

A second later I was flying down the road beside Jace and my sister. This bike was _nothing_ like the one I had taken my test on. As fast as we were going, though, the other vamps were hot on our trail. It was then that I saw a switch located near the clutch. A small little wing painting on the little red switch. Glancing quickly at Jace, I saw him nod. So, I flipped the switch.

And we were flying. Like, in the air.

It's a good thing I wasn't afraid of heights.

* * *

We flew through the night, mostly to kill time until dawn. And soon enough we landed on the roof of the hotel.

"What that vamp did to you at the bar" Jace explained, pulling out his stele and motioning for Clary to give him her shoulder. "It's called Encanto. That was just the first step. its kind of like what a cobra does to a mouse before it strikes. This will keep you safe just in case you run into Mr. Fascinating again."

I couldn't help the chuckle that came out of my mouth.

"Why didn't that Encanto work on Lilly?" Clary asked threw the pain filled tears. Getting runed hurt like a bitch.

"Jace runed me right before I went over to whats-his-face," I told her, the bike keys jingling in my hand as I showed her the healed run one my wrist. "I'm just a good actress" I giggled, causing my twin to roll her eyes.

"Lilly, come here" Jace instructed. "Give me your other arm" doing as I was told I shrugged off my jacket and let Jace take my arm, his thumb pressing into my birthmark so that the cold burn yet another rune into my skin.

"What's this one for?" I asked, gritting my teeth against the pain.

"Silence," he told me "The vamps won't hear us coming, but we can't mask the scent of our blood to them." After he was down, he motioned for Clary to give him her arm once more. Burning the same rune into my sister's arm. "Once we enter the building through there, they're gonna know somethings up."

"But we'll be able to find Simon" I stated.

"If our plan works out, we'll have time" Jace nodded and we walked towards our entrance to the Hotel.

"The mundane world is suuuuper into vampires," I said, stepping over a large pipe.

"Yea I don't get that" Jace sighed. "They see everyone else as an animated sack of meat."

"I certainly don't see the romance," Clary said.

"Says the girl who _begged_ me to go see Twilight with her" I grinned. Clary glared at me, but other than that my quip was pretty much ignored.

"Now you two know it's all real" Jace shrugged. "Still gotta hand it to them, though. They know how to frame a narrative."

And then silence.

As we walked, I prepared myself for what we were about to face inside. There was no way the vampires would give us Simon back without a fight. As usual, my hand found it's way to my birthmark.

"So whats the plan?" I asked as we neared the stairs. "How do we find Simon?"

"He'll be in the most secure room in the building," Jace told us. "Trust me, we'll know it when we see it."

"What if they do an encato on him? Will he turn into a vampire?" my sister asked.

"No, you have to drink their blood for that" Jace shook his head.

"So Hollywood got that one right at least," I said with a small shrug.

"Even then there's more to it than that. It's an overly involved process if you ask me" I chuckled at Jace's words.

"I don't get it, what if a vampire bites him?" Clary asked, walking side by side with Jace down the stairs while I trailed behind them. I must say, I was wondering the same thing as my sister.

"They won't drain him right away" the blonde informed. "They like to take their time, vampires are real gourmets."

"He must be terrified. "my twin had the kicked-puppy look in her eyes.

"Actually" Jace corrected "he'll feel kinda... high. Kinda like he's in love. "

"With the one that bit him?" Clary asked, Jace just nodded. "That's awful."

"It's awful?" Jace asked. "Guess I wouldn't know" he shrugged.

"You've never been bitten?" Clary asked. But the look on Jace's face said that being bitten wasn't what he meant.

"You've never been in love" I stated. "You're not missing anything" I mumbled under my breath, hoping Clary and Jace didn't hear me.

"The point is, it wears off. Just like love" Jace responded. "What's the deal with the three of you, anyway?" he asked "He seems kinda... "

"Be careful" Clary warned.

" _Unworthy_ of you. Either of you, how about that?"

"You really think you have it all figured out?" Clary asked.

"I do."

"You don't even understand friendship" Clary attempted to point out.

As Clary and Jace went back and forth, I couldn't help but want to be with Alec and Izzy. Instead, I was stuck as an awkward third wheel. Thankfully the sun started to rise and we made our way into the building with Jace in the lead.

We weren't inside for more than ten minutes before we heard something. Footsteps and screeches. Jace pulled out his seraph dagger and moved ahead of us to peek around the corner.

Moving behind him, I saw vampires running around. Probably looking for Izzy and Alec. And us. Just in case, I activated my own seraph blade and moved quietly behind Jace. Like he said, we may be silent, but they can still smell us. I didn't want to get caught with my pants down.

Figuratively.

As we walked, our footsteps were silent against the stone floors. Jace and I kept our shining blades at the ready, just in case of vampiric surprises. I'm surprised that Clary didn't have her own seraph blade activated.

It didn't take long to find the first room for us to check. Along with Brad and Marcus.

"You" Marcus growled. "You took my bike, you little bitch."

"Yea, well, you smell funny" I shrugged as he tried to rush me. Only for me to kick out at his chest. "And you're, like, really not my type."

And his head was lopped off with ease.

Killing the demons that one time at Pandemonium was different. They didn't look human. I knew that I couldn't let the vampires human face deter me. These vamps threatened my sister and my friends.

They needed to die.

Marcus was the first to die. Well, re-die. And while Jace was fending off about 4 or five vamps, Clary was gripped up by Brad. Not cool.

But thankfully, my sister did what any girl would do when needing to fend off a male attacker. Kicked him in the nuts. It wouldn't kill him, but he was still a guy.

"Clary look out!" I yelled over the growls of the vampires when my sister distracted herself with Jace's well being. A few more vampires had come into the room. Jace had killed a few of his own, But my back was to the wall, fighting as hard as I could.

I was down to maybe three vamps in front of me, u=but thankfully I didn't have to take out those ones. Someone did it for me. As soon as the vampires bodies disintegrated, I saw Izzy standing there in a skin-tight red dress and her slithery snake-whip thing.

"Thanks" I breathed. And then I saw that Brad had my sister by the throat once again. There was no move, Jace, Alec, Izzy or I could make that would hit Brad and save Clary. At least not one I could see.

"Okay" I saw Alec smirk as he aimed his arrow. Only to raise his sights higher, firing a runed arrow into the stone wall. Letting in the sunlight.

Alec, Izzy I stood back and watched as Clary and Jace took down the two remaining vamps. I couldn't help but feel pride swell in my chest for my twin. It was good to see her fight back like that. Us Fray girls were _not_ damsels in distress.

So, of course, I went over to my sister and gave her a tight one-armed hug.

"i killed him" Clary's eyes were wide with the knowledge of her first vampire kill.

"He was already dead, Clar" I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Plus, he wanted to kill you. Remember that" Izzy told my twin as she walked towards us. "They did great, right?!" the only other female shadowhunter in the room smiled happily at us.

"Yea they did" Jace's voice was rough as he spoke. But his eyes were filled with pride. "You should be proud."

"Thanks, but, it's not about us. Let's go find Simon."

She wasn't wrong. We were here for a reason. Celebrating the badassery of the Fray twins can come later, after the best friend was safe and sound.

It took all of a few minutes to find Simon. He was literally in the next room with a knife to his throat.

"SImon!" Clary shouted, her seraph blade glowing as she tried to rush towards our friend.

"Clary, that's not going to do any good" Jace stopped her. He was right. Unlike with Brad, this new guy would be more difficult to get away from.

"He's right, Clary Fairchild" teh pale, spanish looking vampire used our real last name. The one we didn't know about over a week ago. "Put it away. I've already had enough of your friend for one day. I'd _love_ to cut his throat. Don't give me a reason to."

With a sigh, I put away my blade. Only to pull out one of the daggers Jace had given me. I don't think the vampire saw me though. At least I _hope_ he didn't.

"Simon, are you alright?" Clary asked, once all of our weapons were put away.

"Well, I wouldn't say _alright_..." but the vampire cut him off.

"Now if you would all...follow me," the dead man said as he started to back away. "Let's go!"

"Are we really gunna..." but I was cut off by Alec, Izzy and Jace brushing past me. "Alright, I guess we are."

Silently we walked up a flight or two of stairs. Being led higher and higher by a vampire with a knife to my best friends throat. My fingers tensed around the metal of my small knife.

Somehow, Jace ended up walking beside me. I met his eye just long enough for him to shake his head. Rolling my eyes, I tucked the knife into my back pocket, discreetly showing him my now empty hands.

As we got closer to the roof top entrance, the vampire ordered us to walk infront of him. His threats were becoming more frantic, telling me that he wasn't really going to kill Simon. This was just an act. Clary didn't catch on and was aggressively going back and forth with the dead man.

The next thing I knew. We were all outside. Well not the vmapire, obviously.

"Shouldn't we be getting the hell out of here?" Simon asked frantically as we all took a breather. It's been a long night.

"Why?" Jace asked.

"They're right downstairs!"

"Let 'em come up" I shrugged, sitting down on the top step, rubbing my forehead. I needed a nap. "They come up, they go 'poof'. Come on, Si,, you know this" I sighed, standing as Jace, Alec and Izzy walked up the stairs.

Glancing by the door once more, I saw Clary fretting over Simon.

"I'm keeping the bike" I grumbled to Jace as we walked away. I was only met with his low chuckle sending shivers down my spine.


End file.
